Eleven years ago I was participating in the 22-week virtual Authentic Happiness Coaching Program (AHC). From March 2003 to May 2005 Dr Martin Seligman and a host of other leading positive psychologists trained 1,000 professionals from 19 nations in the theory, assessments, interventions, and exercises of Positive Psychology. It was soon after AHC finished that the first Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program was created, and as many readers know, Positive Psychology News (PPND) was brought to life by MAPP graduates.

My discovery of AHC occurred in early 2004 when I stumbled across Appreciative Inquiry and Positive Organizational Scholarship. Exploring these fields led me Positive Psychology. Having worked for a large international organization for 20 years I was excited about the potential for all three fields to be applied in the workplace.

Positive Psychology’s aim is to build strength, well-being, and optimal functioning. This focus gained momentum in the late 1990s and resulted from a reaction to psychology’s then predominant attention to what is wrong, how to fix it, and how to remove damage and weaknesses. A number of psychologists noticed that removing weakness did not build flourishing.

“Psychology has, since World War II, become a science largely about healing. It concentrates on repairing damage within a disease model of human functioning. This almost exclusive attention to pathology neglects the fulfilled individual and the thriving community. The aim of positive psychology is to begin to catalyze a change in the focus of psychology from preoccupation only with repairing the worst things in life to also building positive qualities.” (Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi)

This expanded attention to building strength and well-being has important implications for organizations.

Well-being at WorkHere in Australia, happiness and well-being strategies in the workplace were almost unheard of 11 years ago. The predominant focus then included cultural imperatives such as employee engagement. Mental illness and mental health are now at the forefront of attention. Organizations are implementing strategies to reduce mental illness at work and to support employees who suffer from mental illness. Notice the focus on weakness correction. However, organizations are also promoting positive mental health at work by implementing strategies to strengthen well-being and flourishing.

Examples of Workplace Well-being Strategies

What resources are available to design an organizational well-being strategy? To become informed you could read every article here on PPND and find the threads that to weave into your strategy. Or you could refer to the strategies that others have implemented. To get the ball rolling, here are some Australian examples of reusable strategies.

“Positive mental health refers to positive emotional, psychological and social wellbeing that can enhance functioning in life.”

“An approach that focuses solely on the dysfunctional elements of work in order to prevent illness does not adequately capture the elements of the workplace that engage employees; nor does it explain why some organisations develop environments where employees can flourish and reach their optimal potential”.

The guidelines are laid out in a clear and readable format, making it easy for organizations to kick-start the process of developing their own strategies.

Example 2: Heads Up

Heads Up is an organization developed by beyondblue and the Mentally Healthy Workplace Alliance, which was established by the National Mental Health Commission. The website has a wealth of tools, templates, resources, information, tips, and advice to help individuals and businesses to create more mentally healthy workplaces.

“Taking a proactive approach to mental health helps to build your reputation as an employer of choice, helping you recruit and retain the best and brightest people.”

CSIRO “is a place where all our people are healthy, flourish and want to work. Our strategy is explicitly focused on the effect of our culture and operating conditions on the psychological wellbeing of our people, and its interplay with their physical wellbeing.”

One of the inputs into its 32-page Wellbeing At Work Strategy 2014-2018 was report from the APSC (see above). CSIRO was guided by the APSC’s emphasis on the influence that organizational culture has on well-being.

“The APSC recommends that organisations: take more responsibility for employee wellbeing at work; don’t assume it’s an employee’s responsibility alone; and place more focus on optimising conditions to enhance employee wellbeing and reducing factors that cause stress. This is the approach that CSIRO is taking with this Strategy.”

Example 5. Ernst & Young (EY)

“Putting Our Minds To It” is a guide published by international professional services firm EY. Six actions are suggested which organizations can take to improve mental health and well-being

Address mental health as an economic and business improvement driver.

Redesign work to establish a mentally healthy environment.

Set a longer term strategy: there is no magic bullet or short term fix.

These examples are a drop in the ocean of resources that organizations can use to develop their well-being strategies. Do you know of resources and examples that you can share? Let us know by using the comments box below.

Do you use the new year to set goals and create new habits? How effective are those goals? Are they enticing and stimulating? Are you motivated to get started and commit to the end?

When I hear people say “I’m going to get fit,” or “I’m going to spend more time with my team,” my response is usually “Why?” Their hesitation and the puzzled look on their face tells me, “What kind of question is that? It’s obvious, isn’t it, does there need to be a why?” I ask variations of the ‘why’ question because I’m interested to know what lies behind the goal, what motivates that person, and where they can find energy to stay committed to achieving the goal.

Digging deeply into the ‘why’ begins the process of defining self-concordant goals. According to Kennon Sheldon, self-concordant goals “fit with and well represent the deeper interests, values, and personality of the individual. By contrast, non-concordant goals are ones people don’t enjoy or believe in, or that they pursue because of external or internal pressures. People better attain self-concordant goals over time because they strive harder and longer.” With self-concordant goals we are motivated to get going and keep going.

In the past I had learned about that approach goals that are directed towards approaching a desirable outcome are linked to greater well-being than avoidance goals directed towards avoiding an undesirable outcome. I was expecting to hear similar views from Halvorson, that a prevention-focus might in some way be less effective and admirable than a promotion-focus. I was wrong. People are motivated differently. People can be predominantly prevention-focused or promotion-focused, or they use either focus depending on the situation. Neither is good or bad. Both kinds of focus can lead to success as long as our focus is strong. The compelling sense I took away from Halvorson’s interview was the deep, non-judgemental respect we can have for other people by understanding their focuses and how those focuses work for them.

So I bought the book. It sat on my shelf unopened for months until May this year when I read Lisa Sansom’s book review here on PPND. It inspired me to read the book. It is a practical book, full of examples and guidance for applying motivational focus in all parts of our lives: parenting, working, personal interests, relationships, influencing, negotiating, leadership and management, decision making, changing.

Like Lisa “I wish I had the room in this article to share all of the many insights I gained from this book.” Like Lisa I found the book “helped me to understand other important people in my life, including my family, my friends, my co-workers, and my clients.” Here in this article I want to add to Lisa’s review by including information about the characteristics of prevention and promotion focus.

When we are high in either focus and can use it effectively to handle problems, we take action and report fewer emotional disorders such as depression and anxiety. The kind of focus we have is not a trait. It’s a tool. At times we might need to have more of one focus than another, despite our dominant focus. To appeal to people, knowing their preferred focus helps us to help them stay motivated. We can communicate in a way that has motivational fit.

Promotion-focused people:

Display high energy when they succeed

Respond to optimism and praise

Are more likely to take chances, seize opportunities, seek many alternatives

Are more likely to excel at creativity and innovation

Are interested in satisfying their needs for nurturance: receiving positive things

Want to fill their life with advancement and growth and gains

Make decisions by considering what could go right. They will do what it takes to make things go right even if some things go wrong along the way

Think more about the pros than the cons

Are discouraged by setbacks because these indicate that they are not gaining, not winning. Lack of success leads to low energy. Failures indicate an absence of a positive.

Practice vigilance and caution which requires thinking about all that has to be done in order for something to not go wrong

Stick to realistic plans

Do not want to risk making mistakes

Do not risk taking chances which might be a threat to their security and safety

Think more about the cons than the pros

Are alert and energized to work hard when things aren’t going well. They see potential failure as a presence of negatives, and they are motivated to work hard to avoid negatives in their lives. This is in the pursuit of the gain of security and safety.

Matching Focus to Context

While we may have a dominant focus, we can change the focus to meet the situation. For example, a prevention-focused person would be promotion-focused when buying a lottery ticket to seek gain. A promotion-focused person would be prevention-focused when getting a flu shot to prevent future ill-health.

Both kinds of focus can sometimes work together. For example, with the goal to exercise more, promotion-focus gives people enthusiasm for the gain of better fitness, and prevention-focus keeps them vigilant in the long term to avoid losing the fitness they built up.

One of the chapters I particularly enjoyed was on optimism and defensive pessimism. Lisa covers this nicely in her article. We really ought to think twice before we label people as either negative or positive, pessimistic or optimistic. Looking through the lens of motivation-focus we can see that both kinds of focus achieve success.

Deciding differently

Another enjoyable chapter was on decision making. Promotion-focused people think “Why will doing X be a good idea and what will I miss out if I don’t do it?” They are seeking opportunity and gain. Prevention-focused people think “Why would X be a bad idea and what kind of trouble could I avoid if I don’t do it?” They want to minimize loss; if the loss is not alarming they will do X. Both groups of people might reach the same conclusion and do X, but will have achieved this with a different focus. Part 2 of the book shifts our attention to how we can use the knowledge of motivational focus to help influence decisions and behaviors.

Grateful for Both

There is much more in the book than can be covered here. I hope this has stimulated your interest in motivational focus. I leave you with wise advice from Halvorson and Higgins: “One of the most important take-home messages from this book is that there are two completely legitimate ways of looking at the same goal. We need to respect the perspectives and contributions of both our promotion colleagues and our prevention colleagues, and to be grateful that the strengths of those with one focus can complement so effectively the strengths of those with the other focus,” (p. 47).

Last week my husband, our friend and I walked for three days on the Great Ocean Walk track in Victoria, Australia. It was a wonderful time, walking in a beautiful part of the world (see my photos) with our backpacks, tents, food, and water. On walks like this, life is good.

What makes a good life?

Long walks make for great conversations. What makes a good life was one of our discussions. My friend and I talked about a particular aspect of the good life which often occupies our minds: good work. That is, we think of the good life being the kind of life where we strive to do meaningful work that makes a contribution to others. We envision the kind of work that is energizing, engaging, satisfying, and fulfilling.

Our chat reminded me of social researcher and author Hugh Mackay’s recent book The Good Life. Here are some of his thoughts:

“The good life is a life lived for others.”

“A good life contributes to others’ wellbeing.”

In relation to busyness: “In the rush to live life to the full, it’s easy to lose sight of the point of all this activity, let alone know whether it’s contributing to the common good.”

“The whole idea of a good life will evaporate if we focus on ourselves and what we’re getting out of it. Self-absorption is not a recognised pathway to goodness.”

“The cardinal question is ‘Is this a good thing to do?’ not ‘Is this a good thing for my public image?’”

In relation to values: “Goodness is not a grand or mysterious concept. All we require are a few simple disciplines that, like compass settings, steer us in the right direction.”

Work, Love, Play and Service

A good life comprises more than just meaningful work. Chris Peterson, psychologist and one of the founders of Positive Psychology, wrote:

“What makes life worth living is not a psychological process. If someone participates in “work, love, play and service,” he or she has a full life. On the one hand, maybe most people have a full life. On the other hand, some qualifications may be in order if we want to zero in more exactly on the good life. Positive Psychologists would probably speak about good work, good love, good play and good service. Qualifications that move an activity from the typical to the notable include how well the activity is done; whether it is done with enthusiasm and joy; whether the activity is engaging; whether the activity has a larger meaning and purpose; and so on.”

Shaping a Good Life

The idea of a good life arises frequently in my client meetings. They ask questions to explore how to turn work, love, play, and service into good work, good love, good play, and good service. Of the many questions to prompt reflection here are just a few:

Photos
Taken by Amanda Horne. Location: Great Ocean Walk, Victoria Australia, April 2014
(You might be interested to know that the sunset photo was taken from the toilet block at the Devil’s Kitchen campsite. Perhaps one of the best located toilet blocks in the world!)

Are you one of the rare people who loves strategy sessions or planning days? How many of your friends or colleagues rub their hands with glee at the thought of strategic planning sessions? Many consider these events something that they must attend, but certainly do not look forward to. They’d far prefer for the strategic planning to be left to the strategic thinkers, “while the rest of us get on with our work.”

With a different mindset and framework, strategic planning can be energizing, interesting, and engaging. It could even be joyful… With the festive season upon us we need some joyousness somewhere in this article!

Positive Strategy

In September 2010, I wrote a PPND article about SOAR. Today I’d like to supplement that article with more recent information. SOAR stands for: Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results. It is a strengths-based approach to strategic thinking, formulation, and planning.

Positive Strategy is the title of Chapter 63 in The Oxford Handbook of Positive Organizational Scholarship. Co-authored by Jackie Stavros (co-creator of SOAR) and Lynn Wooten, the chapter “explores SOAR as an approach for framing strategy through a POS perspective” and “examines the SOAR framework through several concepts in strategy literature.”

Why We Want to SOAR

The benefits of using a SOAR approach include:

Flexibility: It can be adapted to suit different people and timings.

Fluidity: SOAR can be used continuously in many conversations, saving organizations from relying solely on their dreaded one-off planning days.

Possibility mindset: An expanded creative mindset is generated.

Collaboration: The process naturally draws people toward each other.

Collective resourcefulness: According to the authors, “participation and commitment to the organization’s strategy initiatives” is fostered.

Inclusion: This is a whole system approach, whereby everyone can be involved to the extent that they feel they can usefully contribute.

Involvement: The enjoyable process engenders interest in further planning sessions.

Optimism: The authors report, “… optimism in the room during and after this meeting was incredible.”

Capacity building: Internal relational components are built so that resources can be used effectively.

Creativity: When people enjoy planning together, the capacity for creativity increases.

“Strategies should be living and generative actions. Furthermore, strategy should be part of everyone’s job. The SOAR framework provides a fresh and innovative approach to traditional strategy conversations.” ~ Stavros and Wooten

My experience with SOAR supports this. I weave the framework invisibly into client conversations. It is particularly powerful in one-on-one and small group coaching conversations. I regularly notice that clients who do not consider themselves to be strategic thinkers easily begin to create visions and aspirations for themselves and their teams. The approach helps clients think more creatively and optimistically, yet at the same time be realistic.

In the August edition of AI Practitioner, Stavros includes this feedback from a SOAR facilitator:

“The first [surprise] is how well the Quick SOAR went despite the inexperience of the leaders. This speaks to the integrity and adaptability of the framework. Second, it was discovered that SOAR innately produces engagement by creating an opportunity for dialogue, deep listening, and thus a sense of community and valued participation. Third, participants were amazed at the efficiency of SOAR. By starting from strengths and success and taking the time in the beginning to create a vision, the practical results and solutions seemed to fall into place. In contrast, the traditional approach of focusing on problems and solutions involves a lot of controversy, negotiation, and compromise, which takes far longer and is hard work. Lastly, we had fun, we were enlivened, and we were inspired.”

In their recent book, Profit from the Positive, Margaret Greenberg and Senia Maymin (also PPND contributors) explain how SOAR can enhance business planning. An example of a client who used SOAR revealed that the managers involved in the planning talked about aspirations in a way they hadn’t done so before. The managers readily engaged in realistic discussions about problems and weaknesses by using SOAR to reframe them as opportunities. The SOAR process was engaging, energizing, and led to a sense of empowerment.

I talked to Margaret about her recent experiences since writing that book, and she shared this: “I’ve used SOAR many times with senior leadership teams with really positive responses. The positive energy in the room was palpable. The cool thing that happened was this SOAR analysis naturally led into creating a half dozen key priorities for 2014 and served as the fodder for a vision statement!” Margaret also shared that clients made comments that SOAR was powerful, a great positive way to create a vision, a way to expand their view of the topic, motivating, and a source of openness and collaboration.

Strategic concepts support the SOAR framework

To demonstrate that SOAR sits comfortably in the broader world of strategy development, the authors mention a number of strategic concepts and theories whose underlying assumptions support the SOAR framework. These include:

Individuals tend not to be great at all elements of strategic planning. Jackie Stavros and her colleague Matthew Cole have developed the SOAR Profile, a rapid self-awareness tool, from over ten years of research on the SOAR framework. The purpose of the SOAR Profile is to help respondents understand themselves better in order to improve self, team, and organizational performance. The SOAR Profile measures an individual’s natural capacity for strategic thinking about four elements that are essential for the dynamic, future-oriented strategy of the 21st century: Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results.

If you are interested in exploring your own strategic planning capacities, the SOAR Profile is available online.

Stavros, J.M. & Cole, M.L. (2013). SOARing Towards Positive Transformation and Change. ABAC ODI Vision.Action.Outcome, 1(1), 10-34. This is a new journal and is a publication of the Organization Development Institute (ODI) of the Graduate School of Business, Assumption University of Thailand.

A senior executive recently commented to me that his most highly motivated moments at work are when he’s contributing to the growth of others. The executive’s greatest strengths are in developing staff, bringing people together to create highly effective teams, and building strong stakeholder relationships. The executive then said “But this is a bit fluffy isn’t it?”

He is not alone. I meet many executives with similar strengths and similar concerns (“a bit soft, isn’t it?”). These reactions can be particularly prevalent when executives work in organizations that value technical capability more highly than people capability.

These executives are motivated by what Adam Grant and Justin Berg call pro-social motivation, “a desire to benefit other people and groups.” Pro-social motivation is the subject of the Grant and Berg chapter in The Oxford Handbook of Positive Organizational Scholarship. They point out that employees who are pro-socially motivated take initiative, persist in meaningful tasks, help others, enhance the well-being of others, strengthen cooperation and collaboration, are proactive and creative, perform better at work, are inspired, and have more energy.

This doesn’t sound very fluffy to me. Pro-socially motivated people perform most effectively when their jobs are designed so that the work they do has a direct impact on beneficiaries, whether they be clients, employees, or stakeholders.

If you haven’t read the book, I’d like to suggest that you too read the articles listed below because although I provide some highlights, it’s not possible to cover the extent of Grant’s work in one short article.

Cultures of Giving

Grant draws together many years of research by himself and others on reciprocity and pro-social motivation. He suggests that corporate cultures sit on a continuum with giver cultures and taker cultures at the extremes and matcher cultures in the middle.

Matchers help others but expect an equal amount of help in return. They give to the people they think will help them in return.

Takers ask for help and give little or nothing in return. They tend to claim personal credit for success. They tend to “kiss up and kick down” and seek to come out ahead.

Givers are guided by pro-social motivation, “the desire to help others, independent of easily foreseeable or immediate payback.” Givers “add value without keeping score.” The most successful givers care highly for others but also have preserve self-interest, attending to their own work and personal needs. They give in ways that reinforce social ties. They set boundaries to ensure giving has maximum impact and joy, so that they don’t burn out or compromise their work commitments. They are cautious about giving to takers. Givers are motivated by a sense of service and contribution and are more productive when they think of helping others. Grant found however that givers are not successful if they lack assertiveness, become doormats, or give excessively.

Reaping the Rewards

Dr Grant’s work reveals that businesses benefit from effective giver behaviors in the following areas:

Group effectiveness, cohesion, coordination

Interpersonal networks

Sales performance, revenues

Productivity

Client satisfaction

Creativity

Quality

Problem solving

Staff retention, job satisfaction, sense of belonging, pride

“The greatest untapped source of motivation, Grant argues, is a sense of service to others; focusing on the contribution of our work to other peoples’ lives has the potential to make us more productive than thinking about helping ourselves” Adam Grant, quoted in a New York Times article

Do you have givers in your organization? Are you a giver, or a potential giver? Do you want to transform your organization? You might want to consider the points above and reflect on this thought from Adam Grant in an interview with Time Magazine:

“Organizations will always have a mix of these three basic styles. But there’s reason to believe that in the long run, the greatest success — and the richest meaning — will come to those who, instead of cutting other people down, pursue their personal ambitions in ways that lift others up. From a manager’s perspective, it would be wise to clear the path for more givers to succeed, so that they can bring others along as they climb to the top.” Adam Grant, Time Ideas

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